History

NESTAC, which stands for the New Step for African Community, was established in November 2003, in case of dire necessity. There was a growing need from other agencies, which were having difficulties understanding the needs, and therefore helping African refugees and asylum seekers in the Rochdale area.

Since then, the asylum seeker and refugee community kept growing in Rochdale and in the rest of greater Manchester, including newly arrived migrants from the EU countries. Our cultural awareness projects have been so successful since established in 2005, that they contributed to review our vision of supporting only the African community. NESTAC then opened its services and support to the entire community, having a diverse membership from other Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) community and from members of the wider community. NESTAC received its charitable status in 2004.

NESTAC is important as it provides a one stop Centre for the African community, but not exclusively. It is acting as a hub where people can meet and share the values of culture, language, religions, and ethnicities, while benefiting from educational and cultural training.

We encourage cultural exchange as means of breaking barriers between societies and ensure that the above mentioned client groups' needs are taken into account.